BROKEN HOPE (Broken Redemption Book 2)

Chapter 28

Lucas

While in captivity, the only way to silence the pain and terror was through memories of her. Like an out-of-body experience, I would escape into the dark recesses of my mind and reach for her. There we would sit next to each other on our rock. I would play my guitar and sing to her as I bathed myself in the brightness and tranquility of her smiles. That I'd found a way to escape my reality was so welcomed that it wasn't long before I began to imagine what it would feel like to touch her and have her body wrapped around mine as I made love to her.

By the end of my captivity, I had built this entire life for us. A life where she was my wife, and the mother of my children. On the worst days—those I was sure would be my last—I would picture her at home waiting for me to return from deployment. Then I'd see her devastation as she was told I wasn't coming home, and I'd watch as she and our children struggled without me. It was during one of those fevered dreams that I decided I had to fight to get back to her...to them. For 28 days, that decision kept my heart beating and my lungs breathing. Somewhere along the way, that fake life I'd imagined cemented itself into my reality until I no longer remembered it wasn't real.

Finding myself here tonight, with her in my arms after having just made love, feels like a dream. It's so surreal that I'm afraid if I blink, I'll wake up back in that god-forsaken nightmare, only to discover this is all just a figment of the imagination of that dying, broken man. It's why I bury my nose in her hair and breathe her in. She smells like home, like my future, and most of all, my happily ever after. Three things that not long ago I would have told you weren't meant for me, but because she's here in my arms after everything we've both been through, for the first time, this feels like our destiny.

"Are you sorry we didn't wait?" The tone of her voice gives away she's unsure of how I'll answer.

"Not even a little." I kiss the top of her head, unable to help the smile I can't seem to wipe from my face. "That was..." I pause, searching for the right words, but realize there's nothing in the entire dictionary that could encapsulate what just happened between us. "It was amazing. Earth-shattering. Out of this world." The sound of her laughter fills my heart with a happiness I never knew was possible. "So, no. Absolutely no regrets. You?"

"No. No regrets..." she sighs. "I only wish we hadn't lost so much time. I know we were just kids when everything happened, but even back then, I knew you were the only man I'd ever love like this."

Wanting her to see the truth in my eyes, I turn her gaze towards me. "I know we agreed to stop apologizing, but I need to say this almost as badly as I think you need to hear it. I'm sorry I left you. Not a day has gone by that I haven't regretted it. I wish I could go back and do things differently. But since I can't, I promise to spend the rest of my days making it up to you." As her eyes fill with tears, I lean in to seal my promise with a brush of my lips. "I don't want to waste any more time, Embree. You're mine. Until the end of time."

Nodding rapidly, her lips curve into a smile I feel down to the depths of my soul. "Yes, yes. I'm yours." She wraps her fingers around my face and pulls me down for a greedy kiss.

Her soft lips take and demand in a way that almost unmans me, and when I feel her tongue poke at the entrance of my mouth, I can't help the groan that rips through my chest. Just as I'm getting ready to climb back on top of her and take what she's offering, my watch vibrates with an incoming message. I already know who it is without looking, and though I wish I could ignore it, there is nothing more important to me than her safety.

Bringing the kiss to an end, I explain. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. We have to get dressed so I can relight the candles." Though she sits up and reaches for her dress, I can tell she's confused. "When I set up for the date, I deactivated the cameras on this side of the yard. The guys were relying on the lights from the candles to monitor we were okay. That was them ringing me to find out what was going on, so if we don't want them coming out here to see what we're up to, we better get dressed and get all those candles relit." When she catches on and rushes to get her dress back on, I smile and pull her in for one last kiss.